String of gold amulets

From Egypt17th-18th
Dynasty (about 1650-1295 BC)

This group of
amulets
consists of trussed ducks and wallet beads, between a double lotus
blossom and a snake's head. Each element has a protective
or magical purpose. The wallet bead is so called because of its
shape and the resemblance to the curved and stitched edge on a
wallet. This form developed in the New Kingdom (1550-1070 BC), from
the cowrie shell often used in women's girdles in the
Middle Kingdom (2040-1750 BC). Like the cowrie shell, the wallet
bead is perhaps linked with
fertility.

The use of
plants and flowers as amulets and as jewellery elements were very
popular in the New Kingdom. All plants were symbolic of new life,
but the lotus, which opened every morning, was particularly
associated with
resurrection.

Trussed
animals, such as cattle, might represent food offerings. Ducks are
typically shown in this way on offering tables in tombs and
temples. The pose in which the duck's neck is shown twisted
has been interpreted as one of a sleeping bird, and symbolic of
resurrection. Snakes' heads were depicted in the interior
friezes of Middle Kingdom private coffins. They first appear as
amulets in burials of the New Kingdom and may, perhaps, have been
intended as protection against snake bites.